Monday, December 15, 2008

Video Converters

Motionbox - Main Blog: Top 10 Free Video Rippers, Encoders, & Converters
With so many different video cameras, codecs, formats, and more, Lifehacker's Top 10 list on Free Video Rippers, Encoders, & Converters definitely makes for a good reference if you ever need just the right program to convert a video file into a format that works for you. We usually recommend Any Video Converter for PCs and Roovid Lite for Macs, but you can have some fun checking out the rest and see which one you prefer, depending on what you're trying to do. The best part is that all of these utilities are free, safe, and will work on various operating systems.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

This Has Been Spell Checked

Now to check it in other ways.... Eye halve a spelling chequer It came with my pea sea It plainly marques four my revue Miss steaks eye kin knot sea. Eye strike a key and type a word And weight four it two say Weather eye am wrong oar write It shows me strait a weigh. As soon as a mist ache is maid It nose bee fore two long And eye can put the error rite Its rare lea ever wrong. Eye have run this poem threw it I am shore your pleased two no Its letter perfect awl the weigh My chequer tolled me sew.

A Vision of K-12 Students Today

Interesting YouTube Video - I wonder which class I should show this to...

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

IM from anywhere

Chatterous

This looks like a way to pull applications together.  IM Convergence!

Thumbtack

Microsoft Launches Thumbtack; It's a Google Notebook Competitor
Microsoft Live Labs has just released Thumbtack, a new online notebook service of sorts, allowing you to create different collections where you can store links and content and share it with friends. Microsoft offers a few examples of how you might want to use this: finding a new apartment with your roommate, creating a list of your favorite restaurants, or storing data on different cars if you’re in the market for one.

Flowgram

Flowgram

This looks like a great Web 2.0 app to mash up so many things - I think it is well worth investigating.

"Fair Use" and Copyright

Any and all resources on this topic are welcome

Top News - This fair-use guide offers copyright shelter
Hoping to clear up the confusion over the "fair use" of digital materials in teaching and learning, a panel of university professors has developed a "Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education."

Tuesday, December 09, 2008

Creativity

If only I knew how they made these videos

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Alternative Browsing

Too good to ignore: Six alternative browsers | InfoWorld | News | 2008-12-02 | By Michael DeAgonia, Ryan Faas and Preston Gralla, Computerworld
Too good to ignore: Six alternative browsers
These relatively unknown browsers are good -- and could be better for some users than the ones they're using now

Monday, December 01, 2008

Test Drive Open Source Software

Home - OpenSourceCMS
opensourceCMS.com was created with one goal in mind. To give you the opportunity to "try out" some of the best php/mysql based free and open source software systems in the world. You are welcome to be the administrator of any CMS system here, allowing you to decide which system best suits your needs.

Screen Toaster

ScreenToaster - Free online screen recorder : create screencast, tutorials and reviews in few clicks

Free Online Screen Recorder

  • Register & use it anywhere anytime
    Make screencasts / tutorials / demos / high-scores show-offs...

  • Record your screen in one click
    No download. Compatible with Windows, Mac OS X, Linux.

  • Share videos on the Internet in Flash
    Embed them on blogs/webpages or send them by email.

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Stephen Downes Article

Wow - I will need to read this several times.  Wow

Half an Hour: The Future of Online Learning: Ten Years On
In the summer of 1998, over two frantic weeks in July, I wrote an essay titled The Future of Online Learning. (Downes, 1998) At the time, I was working as a distance education and new media design specialist at Assiniboine Community College, and I wrote the essay to defend the work I was doing at the time. “We want a plan,” said my managers, and so I outlined the future as I thought it would – and should – unfold.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Twilight Search Engine

This is an example of using a custom built search engine

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Creative Commons revisited

I keep seeking a way to help people understand CC - is a comic a good way?


Image:Spec1-1.gif
Spectrumofrights Comic1 - CC Wiki

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Web Log Cartoons

Just found a source to add cartoons to my blog :) http://www.weblogcartoons.com/ cartoon from www.weblogcartoons.com

Cartoon by Dave Walker. Find more cartoons you can freely re-use on your blog at We Blog Cartoons.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Professional Development

Those I work with and I must include myself. have been passionate about stopping one parachute staff development ideas and moving forward with strategic staff development.  Here is a good article on this idea.

Can Technology Drive Change in Professional Development? : November 2008 : THE Journal
Can Technology Drive Change in Professional Development?

by Dave Nagel

Teacher training needs to shift away from one-shot workshops and move toward a model of ongoing, sustainable professional development, according to a new report from the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) released Friday.

Twitter Tools

Brian Solis had this wonderful post on Twitter Tools - I had to share

PR 2.0: Twitter Tools for Community and Communications Professionals
Friday, October 17, 2008
Twitter Tools for Community and Communications Professionals



Twitter is nothing short of a phenomenon. At the very least, it connects people to each other through a rich and active exchange of ideas, thoughts, observations, and vision in one, highly conducive ecosystem (known as the Twitterverse). The social fibers that weave together this unique micromedia network is strengthened by the expertise, respect, trust, admiration, and commonalities. These fabrics bind the people who breathe life and personality into the global community as well as fueling the disparate micro communities that ultimately extend across the Long Tail.

How teachers are working around overprotective content filters to use Web 2.0 tools in the classroom.

I've been frustrated as I go to different districts, showing innovative ideas with creative and enthused teachers, to occasionally discover the district blocks tools that could excite students and enhance student learning.  This article seems to capture that concern and thoughts on making these tools available.

Stumbling Blocks: Playing It Too Safe Online Will Make You Sorry | Edutopia
Stumbling Blocks: Playing It Too Safe Online Will Make You Sorry
How teachers are working around overprotective content filters to use Web 2.0 tools in the classroom.

Friday, November 07, 2008

Animoto

A N I M O T O

Change how you make slideshows. (Free teacher accounts for now)

Cameroid

This is a great site to add to CEDu534

Cameroid - Use your webcam to take photos online!

Take crazy snaps with your webcam

Comic Life in the Classroom

I am attending a workshop on Comic Life - if you want the materials here they are...

ComicLife in Your Curriculum
Easy to create! Easy to share!
ComicLife files can easily be "Exported as a web page" as well as ...
• Exported as jpeg files (for sharing electronically -- never try to email a ComicLife file)
• Printed to PDF (still big files, but faster printing)
• Exported directly to iPhoto (which can then be shown as a slide show)
• Exported to a Quicktime movie

Friday, October 31, 2008

More ways to make Gmail work for you

Daily Debrief: The customization of Gmail - CNET News
On this edition of the Daily Debrief, CNET's Kara Tsuboi talks with senior writer Stephen Shankland about the constantly evolving features on Gmail, Google's Web-based e-mail program. From calendar modules to colored stars to quick access to your Google Docs, Shankland explains how the popular service is trying to become the one-stop shopping landing page to compete with Microsoft and Yahoo.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Public Resources for Wisconsin's educators

http://www.ecb.org/education/08EduTemplate_images/ECBedu_header.jpg
The Educational Communications Board is pleased to bring you the collections of teachers' domain!

ECB: Teachers' Domain
This online educational service includes classroom-ready multimedia resources
for use in lessons or independent study. This service includes FREE digital
resources using video clips from award-winning PBS programming.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Twitter Tools

Brian Solis had this wonderful post on Twitter Tools - I had to share

PR 2.0: Twitter Tools for Community and Communications Professionals
Friday, October 17, 2008
Twitter Tools for Community and Communications Professionals



Twitter is nothing short of a phenomenon. At the very least, it connects people to each other through a rich and active exchange of ideas, thoughts, observations, and vision in one, highly conducive ecosystem (known as the Twitterverse). The social fibers that weave together this unique micromedia network is strengthened by the expertise, respect, trust, admiration, and commonalities. These fabrics bind the people who breathe life and personality into the global community as well as fueling the disparate micro communities that ultimately extend across the Long Tail.

Cell Phones in Education

Edutopia has a good article on why we should be embracing and not banning cell phones.

Learn2luvcell: A Powerful Multipurpose Mechanism for Learning | Edutopia
Query most secondary school teachers on the subject of cell phones, and you're likely to get an impassioned rant about the device's insidious ability to provoke distraction in the classroom. All that giggly sub rosa texting not only robs students of attentiveness, they say, but also presents an inveterate disciplinary problem. It's why most school districts have strict cell phone policies, and most teachers are grateful for it.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Knol: A Unit of Knowledge

Google's Knol is designed to verify the authorship of articles, so every knol will have an author (or group of authors) who put their name behind their content. With Knol, authors can work together through "moderated collaboration." Any reader can make suggested edits to a knol, which the author may then choose to accept, reject, or modify.
Knol
Knol: a unit of knowledge
Welcome to Knol
A knol is an authoritative article about a specific topic.
Here are some examples of knols.

Creative Commons

Techlearning > > The New Rules of Copyright > October 15, 2008
Complying with, and teaching young people about, copyright in an educational setting often feels burdensome. That's because copyright laws were not designed to facilitate the sort of sharing and collaborating that has become widespread in the digital age. The innovative nonprofit organization Creative Commons turns the process around, making the concept of protecting and sharing work online not onerous, but positive. We asked Ahrash Bissell, Executive Director of Creative Commons' ccLearn division, for a primer:

Special Needs Tools

Techlearning > > Special Needs Guide to Tech Products > October 15, 2008
Between the 2003-04 and 2004-05 school years, the percentage of students with disabilities spending 80 percent or more of the school day in a general classroom increased from 50 to 52 percent (U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2007). While this raises some challenges in busy classrooms, there are also many rewards. Learning to teach to a diverse population makes for better overall teachers. Combining students of all ability levels creates a better understanding of the unique abilities among students. And—technology can be the great equalizer.

This exclusive T&L supplement can be your guide to the tools available to help meet the needs of all of your students

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

What a great way to help with Gmail

Gmail Canned Responses: If I've Said It Once... - ReadWriteWeb
Gmail Canned Responses: If I've Said It Once...
Written by Rick Turoczy / October 21, 2008 11:00 PM / 4 Comments
« Prior Post Next Post »

Google LabsYou got that email again. You know the one. The one you've answered a million times. And even though you don't have anything more you can add to your response - time after time after time - you dutifully craft the same exact email, each and every time. If only Gmail had some way to save a standard response to that question.

Now, it does. Enter Gmail Canned Responses, a new release from Google Labs that lets you save that response as a template. With Canned Responses, you can answer that annoying question with a few clicks of your mouse. And you can do some other interesting things, too.

After installing Canned Response via Google Labs, building a response is as easy as composing a message and then saving it.

Sending a canned response is even easier. Just select it from the menu.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

40 Brilliant Gmail hints, hacks and secrets

40 brilliant Gmail hints, hacks and secrets | News | TechRadar UK
Gmail goes from strength to strength as Google rolls out new features every few months.

We've dug deep to bring you 40 top tips that'll make you a Gmail super-user, with total control over every aspect of the service.

Friday, October 17, 2008

Poll Everywhere

Text Message (SMS) Polls and Voting, Audience Response System (ARS), PowerPoint Polling | Poll Everywhere
Poll Everywhere replaces expensive proprietary hardware-based response systems with standard web technology. It's the easiest way to gather live responses in any venue: conferences, presentations, classrooms, radio, tv, print — anywhere. It can help you to raise money by letting people pledge via text messaging. Its simplicity and flexibility are earning rave reviews.

Analog TV to Digital

This might be too true

What do you think?

On the Wings of a Butterfly

Northwest Elearning

George Siemens does a great job of describing education as it is and how it is changing, and the impact we may have in the change.  Nice slide show and well worth watching.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Curriculum to use for Second Life in the classroom

Global Kids Second Life Curriculum - RezEd
Global Kids, Inc. is a nationally recognized leader in using digital media to promote global awareness and youth civic engagement. Global Kids’ Online Leadership Program integrates a youth development approach and international and public policy issues into youth media programs that build digital literacy and STEM skills, foster substantive dialogues, develop resources for educators, and promote civic participation.

Monday, October 06, 2008

Social Networks in Education

If you are looking for information on using Social Networks in Education, I was sent this great link by Steve Hargadon - take a look.

Social Networks in Education » home
A listing of social networks used in educational environments. Please add to this list (alphabetical by category and within categories).

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

RexEd - The Hub for Learning and Virtual Worlds

RezEd
Welcome to RezEd (BETA), an online hub providing practitioners using virtual worlds with access to the highest quality resources and research in the field to establish a strong network of those using virtual worlds for learning.

DE Streamathon

I was able to participate in some of these - they were wonderful and are now archived - worth the look!

DEN Blog Network » DE Streamathon
This year’s streamathon featured presentations by all your favorite members of the DEN team, from Hall Davidson to Lance Rougeux, and each of our expert DEN Account Managers. They shared a series of information-packed sessions on how to integrate the newest online technologies used by today’s media-savvy students into classroom instruction.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Screencast-o-matic

It does not get easier!

Screencast-O-Matic
Screencast-O-Matic is the free and easy way to create a video recording of your screen (aka screencast) and upload it for free hosting all from your browser with no install!

Click Create to create a screencast.

We're in beta right now so let us know if you have feedback or find any bugs by using our feedback form.

Lesson Writer

LessonWriter
What it is

Lessonwriter creates lesson plans and instructional materials for teaching English language skills from any reading passage
How it works
  • Copy & paste any text you choose into LessonWriter.
  • LessonWriter analyzes text for vocabulary, grammar and usage, pronunciation, and word roots and stems.
  • Then, LessonWriter writes a lesson plan and a lesson that teaches the skills you chose in the context of the passage - automatically.


How LessonWriter helps teachers

  • Save Time Create high-quality, standards-based lesson plans and teaching materials from text in about a minute.
  • Be Creative Scripts, poems, articles, stories, and more. LessonWriter automatically creates lessons and materials from any text from any source. Choose different content to meet the interests and needs of individual groups of students while teaching the same English language skills to the entire class, or teach the same content but emphasize different skills and vocabulary for separate students.
  • Accommodate Students LessonWriter generates suggestions for differentiating and implementing the lesson to individual students.
  • Track Classes All lessons are permanently recorded for easy and reliable reporting.
  • Design a Unit of Study Content and skills taught to each registered class are automatically tracked, and the next skills needed to systematically cover English Language Arts Learning Standards are recommended.

Friday, September 26, 2008

ConnectNow

Adobe has a room where you can share content - I've made my own

https://connectnow.acrobat.com/ljloeffler

Now to use it.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

PBS Online Community for Educators



Past Sites of Week - PBS launches new online community for educators
PBS launches new online community for educators


Primary Topic Channel:


Also of Interest
Tech giants invest in global ed reform
Digital debate: Prepare kids for exams or life?
Update: Online math program could boost learning
Colleges spend billions to prep freshmen
Technology makes art education a bigger draw

PBS has unveiled a new online community for preK-12 educators that aims to support the advancement of digital media content in education. "PBS Teachers Connect" provides Web 2.0 tools and opportunities for teachers, school library media specialists, technology coordinators, early childhood educators, and other education professionals to share ideas, collaborate, and support the effective use of technology to enhance learning. The new online community is built around PBS Teachers, the web portal to the wide-ranging multimedia instructional resources and professional development services that PBS offers preK-12 educators. At no cost, educators can search more than 3,000 standards-based classroom activities, lesson plans, interactive resources, and other materials on the PBS Teachers web site, then easily bookmark, annotate, share, and manage their tagged content within the PBS Teachers Connect community. The site also enables educators to form shared-interest groups online. The community features a personalized home page for each user, enhanced user profiles, a searchable database of resources and community members, bookmarking tools, and discussion threads. Additional components, such as private messaging, community feeds, friend feeds, online events, and a digital media gallery, will be available this fall, PBS said.

http://www.pbs.org/teachers/connect

Dipity - an online Timeline

Dipity



I read on Digital Learning Environment Blogs by Jim McDermitt the following:
Dipity is a timeline tool that is web-based, free, and collaborative.  Each point on the timeline can include text, images, and streamed video.  It’s easy to use and produces beautifully interactive timelines.  I don’t need to tout the merits of building timelines to help students have a chronological frame of reference for events because you know that already.  But this web-based tool really takes it to the next level with interactive digital timelines that can have multiple contributors, images, videos, maps, and links to wikipedia articles (or any website for that matter) — all wrapped up in an attractive easy to use interface.

So I think I will need to take Dipity for a spin.  I should be able to give you a report on it in a little while. Till then lets have some time to make it happen!

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Distributed Learning

adlCommunity

Supporting the Global Advancement of Distributed Learning - worth a look as one tries to put the pieces together on technology and learning.

Glog instead of Blog?

I am not familiar with Glogster - but have heard Steve Dembo of Teach42 fame discuss it in a Webinar today - looks like a tool i had best place on my radar.

Glogster
Glogster.com/edu - New tool for education
Teachers, try education 2.0


Glogster is proud to present Glogster.com/edu, a NEW addition to the site for all your educational needs! This is just the first step in making education and technology more engaging for educators and students! We will continue to add more and more features and improvements to make sure all your educational needs are fulfilled! Feel free to give us any feed back that you think would make this site better for educators and students.
Why Glogster for education?

1. Glogster is also a perfect web 2.0 tool for your learning and your WIKIs
2. Glogster gives support and help with creating school accounts and keeping Glogs PRIVATE
3. Glogster brings updates based on your feedback. Glogster is Yours!

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Distributed Learning

adlCommunity

Supporting the Global Advancement of Distributed Learning - worth a look as one tries to put the pieces together on technology and learning.

Friday, September 19, 2008

Putting it all together

Too many ways to keep track of friends and family - this site claims to pull them together - I will give it a spin and see.

FriendFeed - About Us
FriendFeed enables you to keep up-to-date on the web pages, photos, videos and music that your friends and family are sharing. It offers a unique way to discover and discuss information among friends.

Tumblr

More ways to share

Tumblr
Post anything. Tumblr makes it effortless to share text, photos, quotes, links, music, and videos, from your browser, phone, desktop, email, or wherever you happen to be.

Scheduling

More than once I have struggled with trying to get a meeting going - I wonder if this is a better way

Doodle: Easy Scheduling
Schedule an event…

… such as a board meeting, business lunch, conference call, family reunion, movie night, or any other group event.
View example, create poll
Make a choice…

… among movies, menus, travel destinations, or among any other selection.
View example, create poll
How does Doodle work?

1. Create a poll.
2. Forward the link to the poll to the participants.
3. Follow online what the participants vote for.

Learn more

Crowdvine

As a conference is planned - could this be used?

CrowdVine: Create Your Own Social Network for Conferences, Events, Groups or Organizations
CrowdVine, founded in 2007, builds simple and powerful social software to help people connect. While we believe our products are very good, the killer feature of social software is people. That's why when you go to our features page, you'll see a list of reasons to use our software, not just a list of tools. Everything we do is aimed at making it easier for people to meet. Once they've done that, it's our job to get out of the way.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Listening to your Text

Listening to your Text

By Louis Loeffler
Assistant Professor and Department Chair of Instructional Technology - Cardinal Stritch University

I do a bit of driving as well as other activities where an mp3 player comes in handy.  While driving I will listen to a variety of podcasts or my favorite music. Recently I decided it would also be a good use of my time to have some of the articles that I am asked to read for a class I am taking at UWMadison available in audio form - so in this way I replace reading with listening. 

It turns out this is done rather simply by software - there are a variety of Text to MP3 software programs available. I choose (since I am using a Macintosh) TextToMp3 (http://www.sveinbjorn.org/texttomp3)

According to the web site, "TextToMP3 is a simple droplet program which accepts dropped text files and converts them into speech in MP3 format using Apple's Speech Manager technology and the open-source LAME MP3 encoder." This means that you simply need to have a text file, drag and drop it on the program, and it generates an MP3 file for you.  It works for any file with ".txt" as the extension.

Creating the txt file is fairly simple.  Most word processors have a Save as feature which allows you to save the document you are working with/viewing as a text file - eliminating the formatting (italics, bold, font size, etc).  Once saved I could create the mp3, move it onto my mp3 player and voila!

I ran into a problem though, my document that was assigned was a pdf - I needed a simple way to convert pdf files to txt files.  I did some searching and while software and/or translation websites existed, they either had a price associated with them or gave me unsatisfactory results.

I then turned to a feature available in Gmail. If you have ever received a document as an attachment in GMail you know that one of the features is to view the attachment as HTML. This includes pdf documents.  So I emailed the pdf document to myself, and when I received it I was able to view as HTML!

Once it was in HTML format I was able to highlight the text, copy it, and paste it in a simple word processor which would allow me to save the file as txt.  Once it was txt I ran TextToMP3 and I had the audio file - getting my reading done has become easier - by having the document read to me.

So the steps in this process are:
  1. Email (using Gmail) yourself the pdf attachment (if the document is in PDF form)
  2. View the attachment as HTML
  3. Highlight the words in the HTML document - then copy
  4. Paste into a word processor
  5. Save as Text file (.txt)
  6. Convert using a Text to MP3 piece of software

I see uses for this as we work towards differentiating or assisting students with reading difficulties.  Easily and quickly you can take a reading assignment and convert it to a format where students may hear what they are reading.

Resources:
Mac
Web

Additionally you might want to try this web resource with your text file.

Friday, September 12, 2008

UStream - Interactive Broadcasting

I have seen some start using this for virtual office hours....

USTREAM.TV:
LIVE, INTERACTIVE BROADCASTING

Experience live video. In just minutes, you can broadcast and chat online with a global audience. Completely free, all it takes is a camera and Internet connection. Try it now!

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

250,000 more free Wikispaces for Educators

Wikispaces is giving away more Wiki's for educators.

Wikispaces Blog » Blog Archive » 100,000 Free K-12 Wikis - and 250,000 More!
wikispaces
100,000 Free K-12 Wikis - and 250,000 More!

September 9th, 2008 by Sarah

Wikis for TeachersThis weekend we gave away our 100,000th free K-12 Wikispaces wiki!

So today, we’re celebrating and sharing with you our continued commitment to the educational community.

Great Work So Far

Cellphones in Schools

Steve Dembo of Teach42 does a great analysis of some things he is doing with his mobile phone - wow. Worth the read.

My cell phone can beat up your laptop - Teach42

Shortly before NECC, I had a tough decision to make. I was ready to upgrade my mobile phone and had narrowed it down to two choices: the iPhone 3G and the Nokia N95. Both have their pros and cons when compared to each other, but I decided to go with the N95 for two reasons. The first is that it has an incredible high quality camera that takes phenomenal video, which is definitely something I’m very interested in right now. The second reason is that having been around for about a year and running the Symbian 60 operating system, it is very well developed and had a slew of applications built for it. I know, I know, the iPhone didn’t take long to catch up, but that’s why I decided to go with the N95.......

Thursday, September 04, 2008

Rationale for educational blogging

Anne Davis writes this...

EduBlog Insights » Blog Archive » Rationale for educational blogging
Rationale for educational blogging

I was recently asked to give a rationale for educational blogging. I thought I’d share what I wrote and invite comment.

Blogs are reshaping our environment. They are beginning to emerge in large numbers in the educational field and offer great potential to transform learning and teaching. It is about new literacies appropriate for this time. The quote below comes from Don Leu, to be published soon in a book by the International Reading Association (http://www.sp.uconn.edu/~djleu/newlit.html) I feel it is a very appropriate focus as relates to the new literacies and blogging for educators. Donald Leu of Syracuse University expresses it far better than I ever could.

What does Teaching and learning in Web 2.0 look like?

Wesley Fryer asks some good questions and invites us all to add to the discussion

What does teaching and learning 2.0 look like » Moving at the Speed of Creativity
4th September 2008
What does teaching and learning 2.0 look like
posted in digitalstorytelling, distributed-learning, leadership, literacy |

In his follow-up presentation / facilitated conversation after his keynote at BLC08, Ewan McIntosh asserted that no single image or video can represent what the new era of teaching and learning looks like. I agree there are multiple ways of thinking about blended learning and what an ideal learning environment in the 21st century can and should look like. I also agree with Ewan’s point that as educators we need to teach, facilitate, and lead in the ways we believe are best for learners and learning and share that with others. I also think there is value, however, in reflecting on images of teaching and learning, as well as technology, and discussing how those images reflect or fail to reflect what is best and needed for learning inside and outside of classrooms today.

Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Free Mobile alerts

My thanks to Wesley Fryer for this.....

Free Mobile Alerts: One-to-many text messaging and voicemail » Moving at the Speed of Creativity
TextMarks: Create text-alert groups using cell phone numbers, permit others to subscribe to alerts, facilitate one-to-many and many-to-many text discussions. I’m using this with our youth deacons group, along with a private Facebook group.

Phonevite: Create voicemail reminders for groups, schedule delayed voicemail updates if desired, record Phonevite messages from your mobile phone anywhere, anytime. I’m planning to use this with our 5th grade parents to send out updates and stay in touch.

Back to School

Back to School: 10 Great Web Apps for College Students

Written by Frederic Lardinois / August 27, 2008 8:25 AM / 52 Comments

college_logo_aug08.jpgFor a lot of college students, the new semester is just around the corner. Last year, we created a long list of great Web 2.0 tools that we thought would be helpful for college students.

But given how fast things develop on the web, we thought we would revisit this topic again this year and look at some of the most useful Web 2.0 tools that have the potential to help students do better in school, collaborate with their fellow students, and save them time.

ReadWriteWeb

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Did You Know 2.0

The "Shift Happens" video was updated - quite impressive.

Friday, August 22, 2008

Infinite thinking Machine

I saw this post and video - amazing...

Infinite Thinking Machine
It’s almost that time of year again for many teachers – the time when eager little smiles will walk into your classroom outfitted with clothes and supplies from their back to school shopping trip. For some teachers with a different school year than mine, your back to school experience might not be this month, but hopefully it is filled with the same feeling of rejuvenated hopes and dreams. Many teachers I know actually build in a Hopes and Dreams student activity as part of their beginning of the year routines. I hope you do! Perhaps this student's hopes for her new classroom can inspire you to integrate some 21st century tools in your classroom.

TypeRacer

Wes Fryer tweeted about this so I gave it a look - who knows, I may actually learn how to type :) TypeRacer

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Tech Shopping Cart

I listened to this as a podcast (and podcast notes are here) and think it is worth sharing. Wes Fryer, Karen Montgomery and Tony Vincent discuss screencasting for learning - this will need to be integrated into CED 534. I especially appreciate that he used Ustream - I will have to look into this resource. Live video by Ustream

Friday, August 08, 2008

Using CMS and Online Library Databases via an iPhone

Logistical Presence in Online Classroons: Effective Strategies for Successful Learning

Simone C.O. Conceicao Carrie Ann Desnoyers

Keynote Friday

Achieving Success - Listen, Look and lead Marilyn Moats Kennedy

Teaching them to think

Best Practices for developing Critical Thinking Skills in Online Courses Paula Jones MarAnn Kolloff Fred Kolloff Eastern Kentucky University

Alternate Search

I made it in (late by 15 min) to the first session - so will not blog live.... It is on alternate search engines (which we use in our intro courses) Roy Schroeder is doing the presentation and is using his blog - Beyond Google and Yahoo as a stepping stone.
  • TouchGraph - a Java based way to view results
  • WayBack Machine - the internet archive a good place to try a broken URL.
  • Exalead - displays thumbnails of the pages
  • Grokker - Lets you have a map and list view - as well as email the list to someone once created. As export the outline.
  • Search the Tail - searches meaning
  • RSS Micro - search RSS feeds
  • And drat we ran out of time - see his blog

Thursday, August 07, 2008

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

Thursday, July 31, 2008

FNO - on Online Collaboration

Jamie McKenzie has a wonderful article I think is worth sharing and diving deeper into. McKenzie, J (2008, Summer). Beyond Mere Gathering: Converting Social Networking into Collaboration and Synergy. FNO, 17, Retrieved July 31, 2008, from http://fno.org/sum08/synergy.html Beyond Mere Gathering
Productive collaboration requires more than the exchange of ideas and suggestions. For a team to reach the synergy level in which 3+3=13 - an inventive surge of productivity and imagination that leads to high quality and imaginative production - the players must all have some grounding in the group strategies that nurture that kind of exchange and invention.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Do Schools Kill Creativity

This is the discussion that Sir Ken Robinson gives in his TED Talk - Go Schools kill creativity. It's worth the watch.

Online Leadership program

I wonder if I can get my children involved.

Global Kids


Global Kids, Inc. is a nationally recognized leader in using digital media to promote global awareness and youth civic engagement. Global Kids’ Online Leadership Program (OLP) integrates a youth development approach and international and public policy issues into youth media programs that build digital literacy, foster substantive online dialogues, develop resources for educators, and promote civic participation.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Twiddla - web-based meeting playground

Just when I start getting used to Vyew and DimDim - a friend (thanks Jeff) tosses out another. Take a look!

Team WhiteBoarding with Twiddla - Painless Team Collaboration for the Web
Mark up websites, graphics, and photos, or start brainstorming on a blank canvas. Browse the web with your friends or make that conference call more productive than ever. No plug-ins, downloads, or firewall voodoo - it's all here, ready to go when you are. Browser-agnostic, user-friendly.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

What I hate about Twitter

After discussing Twitter last week in class, and then using it throughout the GLS conference, I am shown this posting by Joy - very cool.

Weblogg-ed » What I Hate About Twitter
What I Hate About Twitter

I’ve liked Twitter since I first started playing with it last year, but there are some things that are really starting to annoy me about these 140-character “conversations” that we’re carrying on there, server issues notwithstanding.

Whether it’s some people getting a little snippy from time to time and then other people making a way-too-huge-a-deal about it, or whether it’s two very smart people like Gary and Sheryl blowing out a Tweet-a-minute micro debate about the state of education in this country, or whether it’s people trying to live Tweet hour-long presentations that turn into like 347 updates, I’m finding anything that hints of substance just too scattered, too disjointed to read, even with the wonders of Tweetdeck. It’s like trying to eavesdrop on the conversation of a bunch of people with really bad cell phone reception, hearing a part of one response ’til it cuts out into the other. Frustrating.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

UStream TV

USTREAM.TV Shows: Free LIVE VIDEO, Webcam & Video Chat Rooms, Streaming Broadcast, Stream Video Clips, Internet Radio Cams, Web News Events, Watch .TV

Here is a possible way to do distance learning - I'll have to look into it a bit more. My concern would be if it is only for broadcast and does not have interactivity. Won't know till I try it!

Evernote: Remember Everything

Evernote Logo
OK - I started by installing this - now to see if if can make it useful.

What is Evernote? | Evernote Corporation
Remember everything.

Evernote allows you to easily capture information in any environment using whatever device or platform you find most convenient, and makes this information accessible and searchable at any time, from anywhere.

Transforming Teaching

Friday, July 11, 2008

I am experimenting with Cover it Live

Local Games Lab

.:Local Games Lab:.
Our team at the University of Wisconsin makes and researches what we call “local games” that are set in real-life neighborhoods and ecological habitats. These games explore the ordinary environments we live in, and the extraordinary places we visit occasionally. When deeply immersed in such games, players experience the complex dynamics of a place. Local games deepen our connections to people and places.

Our vision is rooted in community: the people we work with, the locations we document to create our games, the groups and organizations such as schools where people play and study with local games, and the sense of place that informs our theory of learning.

AR Games

AR Games | Scheller Teacher Education Program
Welcome to the MIT Teacher Education Program's Handheld Augmented Reality Simulations Site

The MIT Teacher Education Program, in conjunction with The Education Arcade, has been working on creating "Augmented Reality" simulations to engage people in simulation games that combine real world experiences with additional information supplied to them by handheld computers.

The first of these games, Environmental Detectives (ED), was an outdoor game in which players using GPS guided handheld computers try to uncover the source of a toxic spill by interviewing virtual characters and conducting large scale simulated environmental measurements and analyzing data. This game has been run at many sites, including universities, nature centers, and high schools. Our research has shown that this mode of learning is successful in engaging university and secondary school students in large scale environmental engineering studies, and providing an authentic mode of scientific investigation.

Games to play to uderstand gaming

Oblivion
defcon
uplink
Zelda
God of War
S.T.A.L.K.E.R.

All of these games have different ways to teach through gamine (dialogue, problem solving, etc)

Engage Learning: Using Simulations and Games

Workshop at GLS

Engage Gamequest Process - based on Joseph Campbell ideas. - Call to adventure, preparation, road of trials, achieving the boon, return to the ordinary world.

We have a role (e-learning project manager), goals are outlined

Context - a team (professor, TA, Instructional Technologist, graphic artist, programmer

Discussion - what challenges will we have.

Good workshop approach to dealing with how one has t go through a process in game creation.

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Guide for Online Learning

Education Week: Ed. Dept. Releases Guide for Evaluating Online Learning
Ed. Dept. Releases Guide for Evaluating Online Learning
By Andrew Trotter
San Antonio

The U.S. Department of Education today released its first guide to the evaluation of online-learning programs in K-12 education.

The report Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader is designed to help school leaders gauge the effectiveness of online education, as its use grows rapidly across the United States.

“While online-learning programs that deliver courses have been around for about a decade, this report is the first to fully address the issues in evaluating online programs in K-12 education,” said Susan D. Patrick, the president and chief executive officer of the North American Council for Online Learning, or NACOL, which released its own standards for online programs earlier this year. ( "Voluntary Online-Teaching Standards Come Amid Concerns Over Quality," ...

More on Assessment

Dialog on Strategic Meaning Making with Gamestar Mechanic

From game design thinking to game design literacy. Criticisms of current assessment
  • Undue emphasis for "commodity" jobs
  • "standardized " knowledge fails to recognize othe ways of knowing
  • undue emphasis on evaluative function has undermined formative function
Challenge for assessing within gaming
  • design literacy as participation in three dialogs
  • Big "D" discourse htery (Gee, 1999)
------
Studio Thinking and Game Design
Game design through mentoring and collaboration. Visual arts meets gaming

This can be used in game design
  • Framework for teaching
  • characterizing and assessing learning



Assessing Game based Literacies

epistemic games
Knowledge and Skills are not enough - adding identity and values brings you closer - but with Epistemology you have a lens to work through

It's about finding ways to work through learning to think. Using Soda Constructor you can have students work like engineers. They work with others and construct knowledge. Part of an epistemic frame is getting the values of enjoying work, so students learn lke engineers and find value.

How do we assess this though, we cannot do this in isolation with 19th century assessment techniques. If we use an epistemic frame we are going beyond one assessment to including multiple and know how they are doing at any given time.

Social networking analysis is one method or piece that allows for patterns of conversation and interactions, creating a map of the social relationships. Measuring the kind of thinking that is going on in a game over time. Beyond knowledge and skills - but seeing how integration of learning that is taking place. We need to think about thinking in a different way.



Virtual Fieldtrips

RoundTrips

I saw a Tweet on this by Wesley Fryer, so am doing a quick peek. It looks like a great way to take students where they cannot go typically.

Many subject areas and many trips - worth investigating.

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Mobile Learning

mLearnopedia.com

A resource for Mobile Learning - now is the tipping point for these devices.

Finding Online Apps



Simple Spark - About Simple Spark
Cool Stuff for Your Life Online.™
Simple Spark is the place to find and share a new world of web applications.

Introducing a Catalog of Cool Stuff
simple spark logo

The web is the next great platform and not just for publishing, but for everything. You'll use the web to do all the things you did with traditional applications — write papers, keep your calendar, play games, keep in touch — and you'll do it from your personal computer, your cell phone and your iPhone. The Simple Spark Catalog is the place to find all of the really cool web applications, or "apps" that will become an integral part of your life online.

Not only does the Simple Spark Catalog have a comprehensive listing of really cool apps that gets larger every day, but we also give you the tools to organize and share all these apps with your friends. Our catalog is a marketplace where both established companies and independent developers come to strut their stuff.

Online Learning Daily - Stephan Downes

I am at AcademicFest, day 2 - listening to Stephen Downes give a keynote over Skype, while he is in Canary Islands broadcasting from an Internet Cafe. - He temporarily lost his connection so I looked at his posting today - and could not agree more. Thoughts?

OLDaily ~ by Stephen Downes
Web Apps and Netbooks
Cloud computing is now one of my areas of interest, and in spite of the 45 minute outage of Google Docs today, I think that it is exploding as a trend. Cloud computing refers to the many services available for free on the web, which are replacing traditional software applications that run on individual computers. When you pair a mobile device like a smartphone or ultra-lite computer (what Intel is calling a "netbook") with web apps, you have a ground-shifting change in how we are productive using information technologies. Simple Spark, a directory for web applications has over 9,600 web apps listed. Tony Vincent highlights many that would be useful for education, and reviews the advantages and disadvantages of netbooks. -GW Tony Vincent, Learning in Hand, July 8, 2008 [Link] [Tags: Google] [Comment]

Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Bernie Dodge Keynote

I am at AcademicFest in Madison, listening to the afternoon Keynote by Bernie Dodge.
How the Net Makes Us Smart
  • Net penetration (greatest in North America)
  • 1/2 the world online by 2015 
  • Wikipedia growth (content, knowledge creation - people interaction)
  • Marc Prensky
How the net makes us Stupid
  • Google Hot Trends - is this what knowledge we seek?
  • Blogs, Politics & Polarization - 94% of political blog readers consume only blogs from one side if the ideological spectrum
  • Is Google making us stupid
  • Digital Natives debate - do we quickly accept Prensky? (See FNO)
  • It allows us to spread ideas without deep thinking
  • Read "The Machine Stops" by E.M. Forster ... we are removing ourselves from direct expereince and using mediated experience
Why smart <> wise (what is wisdom)
  • If we have the pieces but not a deep understanding we have knowledge but no wisdom

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Evernote: Remember Everything

Evernote Logo
OK - I started by installing this - now to see if if can make it useful.

What is Evernote? | Evernote Corporation
Remember everything.

Evernote allows you to easily capture information in any environment using whatever device or platform you find most convenient, and makes this information accessible and searchable at any time, from anywhere.

Monday, June 30, 2008

Here is Video embedded example.

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

UStream TV

USTREAM.TV Shows: Free LIVE VIDEO, Webcam & Video Chat Rooms, Streaming Broadcast, Stream Video Clips, Internet Radio Cams, Web News Events, Watch .TV

Here is a possible way to do distance learning - I'll have to look into it a bit more. My concern would be if it is only for broadcast and does not have interactivity. Won't know till I try it!

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Tryin Stickam

Take a look - can you see and hear in a Blog when I am online?

Monday, June 16, 2008

Blist

I have been exploring online databases - here is another.


blist | the world's first online social database
blist is the world’s easiest database. blist is all about discovering, sharing, publishing, distributing, and subscribing to data at home and at work.

blist makes it easy for anyone to create private or collaborative databases for anything from party or wedding guest lists, fantasy football statistics, and personal finances to professional information such as sales contacts, project management sheets, campaign tracking, status reports, patient records, and more.

A community of data and data templates allow you to get started right away, and keeps you from duplicating tedious data entry work wherever possible.

blist’s visually rich and intuitive UI enables non-technical people to work with data as powerfully as if they were supported by an IT staff - without requiring that resource. blist makes relational database creation and management as easy as using a spreadsheet.

Create. Organize. Share. Connect.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Cardinal Stritch University Video

The following video does a wonderful job describing the University. - Take a look!

Monday, June 02, 2008

ooVoo - do you video chat?

Free Video Chat and Video Conferencing from ooVoo
ooVoo is the next evolution in online communication — a remarkably easy way to have a face-to-face video chat with friends, family or colleagues, no matter where they are in the world.

ooVoo Video Chat is remarkably easy to use: easy to download, easy to install, and best of all:
it's FREE!

Saturday, May 31, 2008

Death by Powerpoint

I was looking at tools that can be used in presentations - and was reminded of Slideshow. In Slideshow you can create presentations online - and as I browsed I ran across this presentation which fits completely some thoughts I agree with on making a good presentation and as espoused by Presentation Zen.

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

PDF and Life

In listening to Geek!Ed on my drive in today - Episode 0109 had me reflecting on some PDF tools that are out in the world. PDF as you know is a format that allows one to share documents between platforms or applications. Here are some mentioned on that show.

Inkscape. Draw Freely.
An Open Source vector graphics editor, with capabilities similar to Illustrator, CorelDraw, or Xara X, using the W3C standard Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) file format.

Inkscape supports many advanced SVG features (markers, clones, alpha blending, etc.) and great care is taken in designing a streamlined interface. It is very easy to edit nodes, perform complex path operations, trace bitmaps and much more. We also aim to maintain a thriving user and developer community by using open, community-oriented development.

Additionally it can be used as a PDF editor.



SomePDF
Some PDF to Word Converter can help you to convert pdf to word doc and pdf to rtf, so you can edit and reuse your PDF content. Using Some PDF to Word Converter you can preserve original layout, text, images, vector drawings of your pdf file.

Easily convert pdf to word doc, pdf to rtf with Some PDF to Word Converter!

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Digital Storytelling


Getting Started

More resources at http://electronicportfolios.org/digistory/index.html

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

WiziQ


WiZiQ Free Online Teaching and E-Learning with Web Conferencing
Use WiZiQ's Virtual Classroom for
synchronous online teaching and learning. Equipped with live audio/video, text chat, document/whiteboard sharing, and session recording capabilities, this web conferencing tool is available for unlimited free use.

Sunday, May 11, 2008

ZCubes

ZCubes -
ZCubesTM is the world's first website where you can seamlessly browse, calculate, create, edit, draw, hand-write, watch, listen, paint, publish, search, type, print, network, teach, learn, love, and work. http://home.zcubes.com/

ToonDoo

Welcome to ToonDoo! Create your own comic strips, Publish, Share & Discuss

Queeky

QUEEKY - Draw online! - QUEEKY - draw online
QUEEKY - Draw online! QUEEKY is an online drawing community for people who like drawing and share their pictures with others. All pictures made on Queeky can be replayed by the visitors. Here is my simple art.
Take a look at this: http://www.queeky.com/gallery/display/21516

Draw greetings

Make your own email cards at Draw Greetings - three easy steps
  1. You draw your picture
  2. You add a message
  3. You send via email
Give it a try at Draw Greetings

OffType

Another drawing - OffType - let me make this http://offtype.net/image_4941833308522.gif.html Ok - it will not win an award - but it can be fun.

Roxik - Pictaps

With just some simple strokes I created this at Roxik - give it a try

Drawing


offtype.net home :: draw, handwrite, paint online
Offtype.net is a fast, fun, free and easy way to create
your own images online. It allows to draw sketch or road map, to create graffiti, pixel art, drawing, to paint ecard, handwrite message or note.

The resulting image will be saved on the offtype.net free web server and can be used anywhere on the Web. You can share it in your blog, journal, newsletter, message board, email, chat, gallery etc.

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Adding Movie or Media to your web page

Here is an easy way to create your code.

Embedded Media HTML Generator
Embedded Media HTML Generator

Monday, April 28, 2008

Making Videos even more interesting - Asterpix

The image “http://i.i.com.com/cnwk.1d/i/bto/20080306/Asterpix-logo.png” cannot be displayed, because it contains errors.

Asterpix enables users to easily create hypervideos and share them through websites, blogs and email. Analogous to hypertext, hypervideo provides an interactive experience by allowing viewers to select objects of interest to get more information or navigate the video.

Asterpix

Friday, April 18, 2008

A Free Course Management System



CollegeBrain.net - Course Management Online - Home
Welcome to CollegeBrain.net CollegeBrain.net is a free web-based Course Management Service (CMS). Our service enables instructors to manage their courses online and provides students with collaborative tools to interact with their classmates. Users with courses at multiple schools can manage their information from a single account. Your data is protected and will never be deleted unless requested, and user support is absolutely free. Expand beyond the classroom and enjoy the time-saving benefits of online course management. New Students and Instructors, select your account type to sign up today. Sign Up Instructors & Students from many institutions are already using CollegeBrain.net to manage their courses online, including: University of California, Santa Barbara • San Jose State University • De Anza College • City College of San Francisco • Santa Rosa Junior College • University of California, Los Angeles • California State University, Fullerton For a complete list click here

Wednesday, April 16, 2008



Past Sites of Week - Free online course management system gives educators another option
Free online course management system gives educators another option Primary Topic Channel: CollegeBrain.net is a free, web-based course management system that enables instructors to manage their courses online and gives students access to collaborative tools. The site lets instructors build courses, manage students, collect and grade assignments, post announcements, manage discussion forums, and keep in contact with colleagues. All courses that are created and materials that are uploaded are permanently stored on CollegeBrain.net, unless deleted by the creator, according to the service. This allows information to be referenced and used at any time. Instructors can change the viewing access rights for each document, allowing them to share materials with everyone, with peers only, or keep materials private.

Making a PLN


Stages of PLN adoption (Techlearning blog)
Stages of PLN adoption David Warlick wrote a post the other day about being able to zip up or turn off your Personal Learning Network (PLN). I too have been thinking about how one goes about starting a PLN, how do you monitor it, and how do you learn to shut it off. We all continue to push teachers to start PLNs if they haven't already. I have noticed an emerging trend of what one goes through when adopting a PLN for the first time. I myself continue to look at the stages I am going through in adopting this new way of learning, interacting, and teaching in a collaborative, connected world. As I have helped others start their PLNs I have found that many of them go through these same stages. I am still trying to wrap my head around this but for now here's what I see as emerging stages of PLN adoption.

Friday, April 11, 2008

Google Calendar in Education

I have been asked to present to the SOE the uses of Google Calendar in Education - so here are my thoughts and ideas I have culled from the Internet......
  • To start you need an account - so create one with Google
Things worth reading/viewing

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Not on the Test

What a wonderful video/song by Tom Chapin - please watch!

http://www.notonthetest.com/

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Power Up - The Game

Here is a site worth looking at for an approach to teaching science concepts

Past Sites of Week - Multiplayer online game teaches students about energy, engineering
IBM recently launched a free multiplayer online game, PowerUp, that challenges teenagers to help save the planet “Helios” from ecological disaster. The game is part of IBM’s TryScience initiative, which encourages students to investigate, discover, and try science by linking it to engaging, real-world activities. PowerUp can be played alone or with other students and features a planet in near ecological ruin, where three missions to supply solar, wind, and water power must be solved before sandstorms, floods, or SmogGobs thwart the rescue. IBM devised the three-dimensional virtual game to engage students in learning about engineering, energy, and diversity awareness. PowerUp aims to use kids’ interest in fantasy virtual worlds to encourage them to learn about engineering principles by riding over rugged mountains in buggies to build solar towers or searching through grim junk yards to repair wind turbines. Classroom lesson plans covering energy transformation, and an interactive module where kids can learn about technologies to build virtual worlds, also accompany the game. To ensure a safe environment, avatars use phrase-based chats to interact during missions.

http://www.powerupthegame.org/

Monday, March 17, 2008

A demo for class

This blog is a demo - and I hope i recall to erase it later

Technorati: Discussion about “How the Irish made NYC their new 'Home'”
Made over three years with very little money, the documentary "Home" examines New York like a cat. It prowls the perimeter, prowls the interior and checks all the angles before it decides that it's okay to settle down here for a nap.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

School Web Lockers

School Web Lockers is a leading provider of cost-effective, web-based tools for collaboration, distance learning, one-to-one computing and online storage.
School Web Lockers

Blogged with Flock

Thursday, March 06, 2008

The Model Intelligent Classroom | Reports, resources and tips for building an intelligent classroom

The Model Intelligent Classroom | Reports, resources and tips for building an intelligent classroom: "Curriculum and technology go hand in hand today to help students learn both basic and 21st century skills. Yet it’s often confusing to figure out what technologies will make a difference and how to integrate them. This web site is designed to take the mystery out of technology practices by providing resources for building a Model Intelligent Classroom."

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

KASD Action Research Home

Here us a great example of using Action Research - Kudo's to Kiel in their sharing of this.
Action Research Study Kiel Area School District recently completed an action research study which attempted to evaluate the methods of the past and present delivery systems used in their professional development of technology integration for in the classroom. This website shares the results and makes recommendations for constructing effective professional development at any district.
KASD Action Research Home

Blogged with Flock

Compendium



Compendium Institute
The Compendium Institute is an open forum for the ongoing development and dissemination of the Compendium methodology and software tools. Compendium is about sharing ideas, creating artifacts, making things together, and breaking down the boundaries between dialogue, artifact, knowledge, and data. Please visit the resources on this site to learn more.

Friday, February 29, 2008

What I Do (Techlearning blog)

What I Do (Techlearning blog): "What I Do I am fortunate to serve as Instructional Technology Coordinator for my school district. Not many school districts have a position like mine, which is solely focused on improving teaching and learning with the tools of technology."

Friday, February 22, 2008

John Sklar's Blog

John - who I teach with - has a great blog.

John Sklar's Office
Thursday, February 21, 2008 SOE Meeting February 22, 2008 personalized greetings

Image Chef

Rubrics for a New Century | 21st Century Connections

Rubrics for a New CenturyRubrics can be the key to assessing the "soft" skills vital to a 21st century learner. They provide a student with a clear picture of what success looks like, and they allow teachers to open the curriculum to deeper learning. Developing and refining rubrics, however, is an instructional art. Fortunately, sharing them is common practice in the education community.
Rubrics for a New Century | 21st Century Connections

Blogged with Flock

Websites to Learn Web 2.0 | 21st Century Connections

Websites to Learn Web 2.0Are you ready for the blogosphere and the thing we call Web 2.0? Whether you're already there, testing the waters, or exploring the ideas, here are web sites that can help you - with tools and techniques.
Websites to Learn Web 2.0 | 21st Century Connections

Blogged with Flock

Ten Tips for Digital Movie-Making | 21st Century Connections

Ten Tips for Digital Movie-MakingOne of the most innovative and exciting instructional strategies is to have students create their own movies.Digital technologies are revolutionizing education at every grade level and in every subject area. The possibilities are endless, and students' movies are particularly motivating.There are essentially three stages in the creation of student-developed movies: pre-production, production and post-production. Each stage has several components and facets. This article offers you suggestions for the post-production stage.
Ten Tips for Digital Movie-Making | 21st Century Connections

Blogged with Flock

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Free-Reading



Main Page - Free-reading
Free-Reading is an “open source” instructional program that helps teachers teach early reading. Because it's open source, it represents the collective wisdom of a wide community of teachers and researchers. It's designed to contain a scope and sequence of activities that can support and supplement a typical “core” or “basal” program.


Powered by ScribeFire.

Monday, January 07, 2008

Wikia Search

Let the search begin! Wikipedia founders begin a bew search engine. Not meant to replace Yahoo, Google or MSN but rather to do for search engines what they did for Encyclopedia. Let the searching begin - contribute!